


Crazy Together

by TheCasualAuthor



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Internalized Homophobia, Pining, Post-Season/Series 02, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 21:48:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20142496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCasualAuthor/pseuds/TheCasualAuthor
Summary: Will disappears for a moment at the Snowball. Mike says some things he shouldn't have.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A repost of my work from 2017 on tumblr.

When Lucas, although clumsily, asks Max to dance, Will hides a smile for his friend. Max accepts teasingly, and the two head off to the dance floor together. Mike, Dustin and Will stand there for only a moment, eyes lingering on their friends as they dance, when a girl from their Science class, Ava, walks up to them.

“Hey, Zombie Boy” she says, looking straight on Will. “Do you wanna dance?”

“Uh, um, I don’t, I mean,” Will stutters while he instinctively looks to Mike, who for a moment looks as shocked as Will feels. Much to Will’s disappointment though, Mike does not relieve him, but gives him an encouraging nod, urging him to respond. Will looks away, meets Ava’s eyes awkwardly. “I mean, yeah, sure.”

They go onto the dancefloor together, Will awkwardly putting his hands on Ava’s waist as she puts hers on his shoulders. He doesn’t know how to dance, but no one really seems to, and they just copy the rest of their peers by swaying stupidly from side to side. 

Will doesn’t know where to put his eyes, feeling terribly uncomfortable. He’s starting to feel annoyed that Mike didn’t notice Will did not want to dance, and that he didn’t save him from having to. He wanted to spend the night with Mike, not with some girl that has ignored him for all eight years of school. He knows he should not be surprised though. 

He had felt like he and Mike had become closer than ever, after Will came back. Sure, Mike had lost Eleven, but it had seemed like Mike and Will had gained this new connection. And a month ago, when stuff really started going down, Mike had been there; every single second of it, he had spent by Will’s side. Will had thought there was… something there.

Then, Eleven came back. 

Will had woken up from the Shadowmonster’s control, surprised he had made it. When he told his mom and Chief Hopper how to kill the monster, he had been certain he would die with it. Waking up felt almost fake. He had accepted his death, and then it never came. He had been happy, though, because he could go back to Mike. Mike didn’t have to lose him.

Reuniting back at their house, Mike told him Eleven was back. He was crying out of happiness. Will was happy for him, he was; no one deserved to be happy more than Mike. But, Will could not help the clench in his stomach, the sinking of his heart. Ever since, Mike’s been spending less time with Will, and more with Eleven. It’s fine, he doesn’t owe Will anything. He wants to be with Eleven now that she’s back. Will gets that. 

When the third song is finally over, Will excuses himself and shuffles away and off the dancefloor as quickly as he can. He wants to find Mike and the others, and actually have fun tonight. He’s by the bleachers when he sees Mike, sitting alone at a table, looking forlorn. Will is about to head over when he notices Mike’s eyes catching something, making him stand. Will follows Mike’s line of sight, eventually seeing what has caught Mike’s attention. 

It’s Eleven. She’s wearing a proper dress and has her hair done and everything. Will can’t tear his eyes away as she and Mike meet on the dance floor. They’re saying something to each other, and both are looking… awestruck, in lack of a better word. Will stands there, his arms hanging straight down his sides, one hand fiddling with his pants pocket. Mike leans in and… and…

Will doesn’t run, exactly, but he’s out of that gym as quick as he can be. He doesn’t really see where he’s going. He doesn’t notice the tears running down his cheeks. He ends up in the AV room, finding it unlocked, miraculously. 

Sitting down on a chair, he leans his arms on the table, pins his eyes on the wall. They’re stinging, he finally notes. He doesn’t understand the heavy feeling in his chest, but he wants it to go away. It’s not like he’s stupid, he knows what it means. He’s felt something like it around… Mike… for a few years now. It didn’t stop after the Upside Down. It got stronger the previous month. It has hurt more this past month. 

He hates it. It’s what his father has been saying, all along. What Troy has always bullied him for. They weren’t wrong, they were right the whole time. Will is different, like Jonathan says. He really is a freak. He’s not normal, but he wants to be. He desperately wants to be. If he were normal, he would have kept dancing with Ava. If he were normal he would not have spent all ten minutes wishing she were Mike.

His crying is heavier, small whimpers escaping his throat, tears rolling quicker. It should feel like such a superficial thing to cry about now, after everything. But this thing inside him, it’s almost like the Shadowmonster, only it won’t be possible to burn this one out of him. It’s stuck there, this is part of him. It’s who he is, even if his father, Troy and most of the world despise him for it. Even if Mike found out and started hating him, too.

As if all of this isn’t enough, Will has been suffering from actual nightmares, almost every night since the Shadowmonster. They’re bad, leaving him heaving for his breath, soaked in sweat, shaking down to his core. They aren’t like the episodes he had after the Upside Down, but terrifying none the least.

He doesn’t keep track of time, wouldn’t be able to tell how long he sits there. He only gains his senses when he hears someone call his name.

“Will?”

“Will! Will, where are you?”

Will gets to his feet and edges to the door. He hears Lucas yelling, not too far away. Taking a deep breath, Will wipes his now mostly dry cheeks. His eyes feel puffy, so he can’t imagine how he must look. With another deep breath, he is slowly inching the door open. He peeks out, but the hall is empty.

“Will!” shouts Mike. He sounds scared, Will thinks. “Will!”

Max, Lucas and Mike round the corner together and spot Will by the door to the AV club. 

“There you are,” Lucas says, sounding casual, with maybe a hint of relief. Max looks at Will, uncertain. Mike looks furious.

“Where have you been?” he says, angrily. Will scrunches his nose, confused. “You’ve been gone for almost an hour! We thought you had gone home, but when I followed Eleven outside, your mom was still there. Do you even know how scared she is right now?”

Will feels a twist of guilt for his mother, then one of anger. For Mike.

“She’s out of her mind! We’ve all been looking for you; Hopper, Eleven… Eleven was about to use her powers to find you, and you were just sitting in there, hiding away?”

Will can’t help but put this angry, accusing Mike against the Mike that would always, before anything else, ask if Will was okay. He doesn’t say anything, just pushes past his friends and starts heading down the hall, wanting to find his mom and go home. 

Mike yells after him. “What’s wrong with you? You can’t just do things like this after everything, it’s crazy!”

“Mike…” Lucas protests quietly.

Will’s shoulders tighten, his heart thumping fast and loud. He yells back, without turning: “Crazy together, though, right?”

He doesn’t wait for a response and continues walking quickly, feeling almost sick to his stomach. He has never argued with Mike before, at least not like this. This feels serious. It almost feels final.

“Did you see his eyes? I think he was crying,” Max says quietly, but Will manages to overhear. For some reason it makes the tears spring forward again. 

He feels even worse when he finally finds his mom. She’s worried crazy, like Mike said, and demands that they go home immediately. He waves goodbye to Dustin who was waiting with Will’s mom, now standing with Eleven. Will can’t find it in him to upset her and gives her El quick hug. 

“Will, honey,” his mom says, her voice a little scratchy. She breaks her attention from the road, sending him a few, short glances. “Please, please, tell me what’s wrong,”

Will sighs, because of course his mom would notice, and of course she would ask. It’s not that he blames her, it has been hard ever since Bob… But he can’t talk about this with her. It’s not some monster that’s the problem now, it’s him. 

“Nothing. I just, I was feeling a little overwhelmed,” Will lies smoothly. It’s an easy excuse nowadays, one he uses more than he probably should.

“You should have come outside. We could have gone home,” his mom says. “There’s nothing wrong with what you’re feeling, Will. You’re so brave, you know that? With… everything… you’ve been so brave, honey.”

Will is tired of hearing that he is brave, like he is some kind of hero. He doesn’t want to be, he just wants to be Will. He just wants to be normal.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day is Saturday, and Will is fully intending on spending it with Jonathan. He just wants a day in, watching movies, so he doesn’t have to focus on everything that is really going on. Which is when someone, of course, knocks on the door for Will. 

It’s Mike. 

Will can’t deny that he’s surprised. Mike has not been to Will’s house since the Shadowmonster, and Will can’t help but think he looks almost wary, standing on their porch. Ridiculously, Will crosses his arms.

“Hey,” Mike greets him, uncertainly. “Um, can I… come in?”

Will couldn’t ever deny Mike Wheeler anything, so a minute later they are in Will’s room, Will sitting on the bed, Mike in the desk chair. They sit in awkward silence for what feels like forever but is probably just thirty seconds. Will fiddles with a crayon and Mike’s leg is shaking.

“I’m sorry,” Mike blurts. “What I said yesterday, it was stupid. I was worried, okay? I wasn’t thinking. It’s not an excuse but, that’s what happened. I’m sorry.”

Will sighs softly, shrugging. “It’s okay. I wasn’t mad,”

“Yeah, you were. Which is fine. You’re allowed to be mad when I’m an asshole,” Mike says, with a small, self-deprecating smile. Will smiles a little, too. “I didn’t even notice you had been crying. What happened?”

Will freezes, suddenly his throat feels tight. Mike is up and out of the desk chair and sitting on the bed next to Will in a second. 

“Hey, what’s wrong? Will, it’s okay, you’re okay,” Mike says, running his hand up and down Will’s arm, making goose bumps stand on his neck, leaving warmth where he touches. Will gets a flashback to a similar situation about a month ago. He briefly closes his eyes, and before he can really think, he speaks.

“There’s something wrong with me,” he whispers, voice cracking. Mikes hand stops just above Wills elbow, his grip soft, yet firm. 

“What’s wrong? Is he back?” Mike asks, quietly. He sounds fearful, worried what the answer might be. Will shakes his head. Mike repeats, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m, I,” Will stutters. What is he doing? He can’t tell Mike, it would ruin everything. If there is one thing Will knows, it is that the world does not accept people like him. If his father taught him anything, it would be that. “Just… forget it. It’s nothing,”

“Will,” Mike deadpans. His eyes still look worried. “Don’t lie.”

“I’m not lying,” Will says, shaking Mike off, feeling overwhelmed by the feeling of his comforting hand. Would Mike keep it there, if Will told him? “I’ve been having nightmares, okay? Real nightmares, not episodes.”

“Oh,” Mike utters, fiddling with his hands in his lap. “Want to talk about them?”

No, Will doesn’t. He wants to forget the nightmares. He wants to feel comfortable around Mike, not like he’s stepping on eggshells. He wants to ask why Mike has ignored Will ever since last month’s happenings, ever since Eleven came back. He wants to know whether the things Mike said then had the same implications as Will’s interpretations. 

Will tells Mike about the nightmares, every last detail. His skin itches with how closely Mike pays attention to Will talking, to his body language, how he maintains eye contact. None the less, talking about them with Mike makes him feel better, like talking to Mike always has. When Will chokes on a certain part, Mike puts his arm around Will’s shoulder and Will leans into it, shutting out the voice in his head yelling horrible things. 

But Will can’t ever tell Mike the other truth. Because monsters and other dimensions? That Mike can understand. But Will knows, despite the ache in his heart, that Mike would never understand Will’s feelings for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on [tumblr](https://astrangerthingsblog.tumblr.com)


End file.
